Double take-up spring for needle-bars on sewing-machines



T. E. SCULLY AND H, I. LYON. DOUBLE TAKE-UP SPRING FOR NEEDLE BARS 0N SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICAHON FILED OCT- 27, I9l9- 1,370,228. Patented Mar. 1, 1921.

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T. E. SCULLY AND H. J. LYON.

DOUBLE TAKE-UP SPRING FOR NEEDLE BARS 0N SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 27, 1919.

1,370,228, Patented Mar. 1, 1921.

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T. E scum AND H. JNLYON.

DOUBLE TAKE-UP SPRING FOR NEEDLE BARS ON SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED 1 .1.27, 19W.

1 70,228. Patented Mar. 1, 1921.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS E. SCULLY AND HAROLD J. LYON, or nos ANGELES, onmronma DOUBLE TAKE-UP SPRING FOR NEEDLE-BARS 0N SEWING-MACHINES.

Application filed October 2'7, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS E. ScoLLY and HAROLD J LYON, citizens of the United States, residing at Los iangeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Double Take-Up Springs for Needle-Bars on Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sewing machines and more particularly to sewing machines provided with reciprocating needle and looper elements.

Heretofore sewing machines of the character referred to in the following specification have been provided with a reciprocating needle or needles suitably connected to a needle bar and cooperating with a reciprocating or oscillating looper whereby a thread has been passed through the thread or threads brought down through the material being sewed by the needles.

In machines of this character difliculty has been encountered and unnecessary loss produced because of the breaking of the several threads due to the kinking of the threads from various causes, as for instance, due to the presence of an unnecessary amount of slack thread in front of the needle or needles as it or they recede from their lowermost position, and also due to the unnecessary fullness of the loop formed behind the thread when the needle recedes. This superfiuous length of loop tends to cause the thread or threads to follow the looper and cause the breakage of the stitching as the threads become kinked or twisted by the withdrawal of the needle.

It is therefore one of the objects of our present invention to provide an improvement in sewing machines having the function of reducing the unnecessary looseness of the thread in front of the needle as it recedes from the goods.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for automatically taking up the slack of the thread and permitting the free movement of the thread as the needle moves upwardly and downwardly; and a further object of the invention is to provide means for keeping the thread in the grooves of the needles or needle when such are provided with grooves or longitudinal channels above the eye.

Another object ofthe present invention is Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mal. 1, 1921. Serial N0. 333,771.

to provide yielding means for automatically taking up unnecessary slack in the thread as the stitching proceeds and also for controlling the length of the loop being formed so as to avoid the kinking, ting of the thread and its consequent breaking, and also which will prevent the loop from being dragged by the looper during the operation of thelatter.

A further object of the invention is to provlde a device that may be readily attached to sewing machines without requiring any material changing or altering of the constructionof the latter, andto provide a device or attachment that is simple, )racticable, inexpensive, durable and that will efiiciently secure the desired results.

lV th the above and other objects in view as will be rendered manifest to those versed 1n the art the invention consists of the construction. the combination, and the details and arran ement of the parts as more particularly described in the following specificat 10n with relation to the embodiment of the lnvention illustrated in the accompanyng drawings, in which:

F igure 1 is a side elevation of one form of sewmg'machine to which the invention is shown applied.

Fig, 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a sewing machine showing a portion of the pressure foot and the needle bar with our improvement attached thereon, the needle being in its uppermost position, and showing the tension controlling device as under tension to take up slack in the needle thread.

Fig. 3 is a view of the needle bar and its twisting 0r knotneedle, the'latter being in its downwardly moving position.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the pressure foot and needle bar, the latter being in its lowermost-position. q 7

Fig. 5 is a cross section through the needle bar showing the improved take-up device thereon.

the operation of the needle bar.

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view showing-the needle in its lowermost position with the thread tensioned to lie close in the grooves suitable means 3 in its lower end to clamp a needle or needles 4. In the present case the machine is being designed to make a double row of stitches by the'use simultaneously of a pair of needles 4; these'needles while not necessarily so, are shown as provided in Fig. 11 with front and rear thread receiving grooves 4* into which it is desirable that the thread be snugly drawn during the operation of the machine for the purpose of preventing the thread from kinking during the operation of the machine. The needles cooperate with the looper indicated by dotted lines at 5 in Fig. 1 and shown in section in Fig. 10, the looper having a hook 5 designed to pass through the loops or loop formed by the needles or needle asthe case Obviously the looper is so timed may be. that it passes to the rear of the needles 4 closely after the beginning of the receding movement of the needles so as to enter the loops formed in the threads as the needles move upwardly.

Heretofore because of the slacknese formed in the thread or threads by the upward movement of the needle the threads have always had a ready tendency to kink, twistor knot because of the looseness brought about by the upward movement of the needle, and this looseness results also ordinarily in the tendency of the loop into which the looper hook has passed of being drawn back with the looper as it recedes with detrimental results.

Therefore to the end of accomplishing the purposes above set forth we have devised a means for automatically taking up the slackness of the thread as the needle begins its upward or receding movement to prevent the kinking of the thread in the front of the needle.

While our invention maybe embodied in various forms a practical construction of the same is herein illustrated wherein a take-up of the thread is produced efiiciently and an tomatically during the operation of the machine. The take-up device, as shown, comrises preferably a resilient or yielding bow in this case comprising a pair of spring arms 8 at the outer end of which an eye 6 is I of the machine.

from the spools S are drawn down by the ably mounted in a mounting in the shape of a clamp 10 that can be readily attached, to and removed from theneedle bar2 without requiring any alteration in the construction of the latter. The collar 10 is provided on opposite sides with cars 11 to receive the bights 9 of the spring wire of which the take-up is formed, and the rear of the clamp 10 is provided with a set screw 12 by which the collar may be suitably secured in the desired position after having been properly adjusted on the lower end of the needle bar 2.

When the device is applied the eye 6 is so disposed as to extend forwardly from the needle bar to receive the thread or threads T which are passed along the frame of the machine, as shown in Fig. 1, from suitable spools S mounted on or adjacent to the machine. After the threads are passed through the bights 9 and the eye 6 of the take-up device they are also passed through the eye of the needles to be interlocked with a, thread carried by the looper 5 during the operation. As the threads T coming needles l they pass beneath suitable vfriction devices F in Fig. .1, and as the needles with draw from their lowerinost position a slack is consequently formed in the thread and this slack is automatically controlled by the re-action of the improved take-up device above described. 1

The action of the take-up device is plainly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, which, due to the tension of the threads in the various positions of the needles, is caused to assume dif- .ion of the thread between the stitch of the thread beneath the-pressure foot and the friction devices F. As the needle moves down the thread is automatically drawn through the friction devices F from the spools S, and as the needles move downwardly the tension device is caused to swing inwardly slightly toward the needle.

In Fig. 4 the needle and needle bar areshown in thelr lowermost position at which time the take-up device 7 is shown as in a position close to the lower end of the needle bar, and upon the upward movement of the needle bar and needle there occurs a reduc-' tion in the tension of the thread as between the friction devices F andv the end of the needle as the needle reduces the distance between the friction devices F and itself. It is at this time that the resilient action of the take-up device serves, by the outward movement of the eye 6, to take-up this slack that is produced in the thread and to hold the threads close in the grooves or channels 4 of the needles l as clearly shown in Figs. 9 and 11.

AS the needles begin to move downwardly the take-up device eye 6 presses outwardly, as shown in Fig. 3. This outward movement not only takes up the loose thread but furthermore prevents the loop indicated at L in Fig. from dragging back with the looper hook.

li ere the automatic take-up device not used the thread and loop would assume a condition indicated in the dotted lines at L in Fig. 10, and it is for the purpose of overcoming this slackness shown by the dotted lines L in Fig. 10 that the present take-up device is devised and utilized and will elimnate the tendency of the loop L from being drawn back with the receding looper point 5 As above stated the take-up device 7 may be constructed in various forms as ex'igency ma Y require, but in the construction shown the device is simple and practicable and inexpensive and may be readily applied to or remover from a needle bar and is of compact construction and light in weight, and as shown, the eye coil 6 forms the spring at the ends oi the arms 8, so that when the device is applied the arms are contracted and the big ts 9 spring into the cars 11 of the collar 10. The resiliency of the bow causes it to tend to assume a position as in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, but the threads passed through the eye 6 and tensioned will change its angular position as above explained with varying tension of the thread.

Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of our invention as claimed.

lVe claim:

1. The combination with a sewing machine having a reciprocating needle bar, of a thread take-up device comprising a resilient thread engaging member adjustably mounted upon the needle bar and adapted to swin in a vertical plane.

:2. The combination with a sewing machine having a reciprocating needle bar, of

a take-up device comprising a resilient wire thread engaging bow removably secured to the needle bar.

3. The combination with a sewing machine having a reciprocating needle bar, of take-up device comprising a resilient bow removably secured to the needle bar, said how consisting of a sin le piece or wire bent to form an eye with arms diverging outwardly therefrom, said arms then bent inwardly and upwardly and then outwardly and downwardly, forming resilient bights by which the bow is supported, a collar adapted to be removably attached to the needle bar, and ears on the collar adapted to be engaged by the bights ot' the bow for supporting the latter in normally horizontal. position.

4. The combination with a sewing machine ot a take-up device comprising a yielding bow adapted to be removably attached to the head thereof, said bow comprising. an eye, arms diverging from said eye, said arms terminating in yielding bights by which the bow is mounted in normally horizontal position.

5. The combination with a sewing ma chine of a take-up device comprising an eye, yielding arms diverging from said eye, said arms terminating in inwardly and upwardly extending bights for securing the device in operative position.

6. The combination with a sewing machine having a reciprocating needle bar, of a take-up device comprising a collar removably secured to the needle bar, ears on the collar, and a yielding bow having an eye in its outer end, arms extending from said eye, said arms terminating in yielding bights adapted to engage said ears for supporting the bow in normally horizontal position.

7. The combination with a sewing machine having a reciprocating needle bar, of a take-up device comprising a collar removably secured'to the needle bar, ears on the collar, and a yielding thread engaging member yieldingly supported in normal horizontal position on said ears.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification.

THOMAS E. SCULLY. HAROLD J. LYON. 

